Are you struggling with membership growth?

Your association may have weak spots within the universal stages of the membership experience. The Wild Apricot blog details those eight specific stages to help you plug any leaks in your membership faucet.

One of the stickier phases of the membership funnel is the contemplation phase.

“In this stage, a prospective member weighs whether the membership will make a difference,” writes blogger Joy Duling. “Will their business be different, their career be different, their family dynamic be different?”

A smart association will make sure its membership benefits answer those questions and are clearly communicated, so prospective members don’t get stuck in this phase forever.

Also take a critical eye to the experience you’re providing to members in their first 30 days. That first month makes a big impression on members either to your benefit or to your detriment.

Captivating Captions

How to write the best Instagram captions: https://t.co/gfqBjdGweS Ideas, tips, and strategy pic.twitter.com/s2GeCNYTdu

— Hootsuite 🦉 (@hootsuite) April 4, 2017

A picture is worth a thousand words, but you can still maximize your Instagram feed by writing a killer caption that will boost your engagement and inform your followers.

The social media experts over at Hootsuite published a thorough how-to guide for writing perfect captions.

Start with a complete understanding of your audience and your brand voice. When crafting your captions, keep them brief and place your most important words at the beginning.

Also, be sure to use hashtags, but place them at the bottom of your caption or in the comments so they don’t clutter up your message.

Other Links of Note

Working with college volunteers. Engaging Volunteers shares technology solutions that will help your association work with students.

Apple apologizes for Mac Pro stagnation. The tech giant is changing course after being hindered by its own design, according to TechCrunch.

Keeping employees happy. The Society for Human Resource Management provides tips for creating a supportive work environment.

(iStock/Thinkstock)